Community arts and the Irish language at the heart of the May Festival in Wexford.
This is the fifth time that Wexford has hosted a May Festival. Events for the festival centre around the Wexford Arts Centre with activities for all ages ranging from dancing to tie-dying.
One of the big attractions is 'The Tree of Life' which is associated with the Irish festival of Bealtaine. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to add to the tree by tying various bits of fabric.
Project organiser Rhoda McManus explains that part of the function of community artists is to help groups to help themselves in creative ways. Initiatives include a print workshop where posters are created to advertise community events.
Apart from its artistic and social aims, the main purpose of the week-long festival is to promote the Irish language. Máire Enright explains the focus on promoting the arts at a community level through the medium of Irish. She is hopeful that during the week, people will make the effort to use whatever Irish they have and there has been a great response from the community.
We do believe that most people in the community have some Irish be it a little or a lot.
Wexford Arts Centre has grown considerably in recent years and has been granted £40,000 from the Arts Council.
An RTÉ News broadcast on 19 May 1981. The reporter is Peter McNiff.
